A low-calorie diet may reduce the chances of breast cancer spreading to other parts of the body, a new study has shown

Scientists have discovered that calorie restriction, whereby food intake is decreased by a certain percentage, could prevent triple negative breast cancers – known as TNBC and one of the most aggressive forms of cancer, as well as the least responsive to standard treatment – from spreading to other organs by strengthening the tissue surrounding the tumour.

The study, which was conducted by the department of radiation oncology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and was published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, involved feeding one group of mice a third less than another group.

The results showed that TNBC was less likely to spread to new sites in the body when the mice had a restricted diet.